The Pickle Jar
　　
　　　　A.W. Cobb


　　As far back as I can remember, the large pickle jar sat on the floor beside the dresser in my parents' bedroom. 　　泡菜坛

　　　　翻译：Bull


　　从我记事起，那个大泡菜坛就一直放在我父母卧室梳妆台旁的地板上。每天晚上爸爸准备上床休息时，都会掏空自己的口
When he got ready for bed, Dad would empty his pockets and toss his coins into the jar. As a small boy I was always fascinated at the sounds the coins made as they were dropped into the jar. They landed with a merry jingle when the jar was almost empty. Then the tones gradually muted to a dull thud as the jar was filled. I used to squat on the floor in front of the jar and admire the copper and silver circles that glinted like a pirate's treasure when the sun poured through the bedroom window. 袋，把硬币仍进坛子。而我这个小孩子总是对硬币掉入坛中时发出的声音着迷。在坛子里硬币不多的时候，它们发出清脆悦耳的叮当声。而当坛子被装满的时候，声音逐渐变成沉闷的砰砰声。当阳光从卧室的窗泻入房间时，我常常蹲在坛子前，羡慕地看着这些硬币和它们闪烁的银色光环，就好象是一笔海盗的宝藏。

　　When the jar was filled, Dad would sit at the kitchen table and roll the coins before taking them to the bank. Taking the coins to the bank was always a big production. Stacked neatly in a small cardboard box, the coins were placed between Dad and me on the seat of his old truck. Each and every time, as we drove to the bank, Dad would look at me hopefully. "Those coins are going to keep you out of the textile mill, son. You're going to do better than me. This old mill town's not going to hold you back." Also, each and every time, as he slid the box of rolled coins across the counter at the bank toward the cashier, he would grin proudly. "These are for my son's college fund. He'll never work at the mill all his life like me." 　　坛子装满以后，爸爸就坐在厨房的桌子前，将硬币卷起来，然后把它们送到银行。带硬币去银行总是一件大事。我们乘着父亲破旧的卡车，硬币整整齐齐地堆放在一个小纸盒中，摆在我们之间的座位上。每次驱车去银行的时候，父亲都满怀希望地看着我。“儿子，有了这些硬币，你以后就可以不用进纺织厂干活了。你会做得比我好。这个老厂区阻止不了你。”而每一次当他在银行把装满一卷卷硬币的盒子推柜台，交给出纳员的时候，他都会裂开嘴，自豪地笑。“这些硬币是我儿子上大学的资金。他以后不会象我一样一辈子在工厂里干活了。”

　　We would always celebrate each deposit by stopping for an ice cream cone. I always got chocolate. Dad always got vanilla. When the clerk at the ice cream parlor handed Dad his change, he would show me the few coins nestled in his palm. "When we get home, we'll start filling the jar again." 　　每存上一笔款我们都会停下车吃个冰激凌卷庆祝一番，我爱吃巧克力的，而父亲总是要香草冰激凌。当冰激凌店的售货员把找头递给爸爸时，他会给我看看躺在手掌上的几枚硬币。“等我们回家，又能开始用它们装坛子了。”

　　He always let me drop the first coins into the empty jar. As they rattled around with a brief, happy jingle, we grinned at each other. "You'll get to college on pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters," he said. "But you'll get there. I'll see to that." 　　他总是让我把第一枚硬币投入空坛子。硬币落入空荡荡的坛子，发出短暂、欢快的叮当声，我们俩相视而笑。“你会靠着这些一分一角的硬币上大学，”他说，“但你必须成功。我会给你准备这些的。”

　　The years passed, and I finished college and took a job in another town. Once, while visiting my parents, I used the phone in their bedroom, and noticed that the pickle jar was gone. It had served its purpose and had been removed. A lump rose in my throat as I stared at the spot beside the dresser where the jar had always stood. My dad was a man of few words, and never lectured me on the values of determination, perseverance, and faith. The pickle jar had taught me all these virtues far more eloquently than the most flowery of words could have done. 　　许多年过去了，我完成了学业，在另一个小镇找到一份工作。一次，在探望父母时，我到他们卧室打个电话，发现那个泡菜坛已经不在了。它已经完成了自己的使命，拿走了。我看着梳妆台旁用来摆放坛子的地方，不禁哽咽起来。我的父亲是一个少言寡语的人，他从来没有给我讲过诸如果断、坚韧、信念之类的价值观。可这个泡菜坛子已经教给了我这一切，它的说服力是那些最华丽的辞藻永远也比不上的。

　　When I married, I told my wife Susan about the significant part the lowly pickle jar had played in my life as a boy. In my mind, it defined, more than anything else, how much my dad had loved me. No matter how rough things got at home, Dad continued to doggedly drop his coins into the jar. Even the summer when Dad got laid off from the mill, and Mama had to serve dried beans several times a week, not a single dime was taken from the jar. To the contrary, as Dad looked across the table at me, pouring catsup over my beans to make them more palatable, he became more determined than ever to make a way out for me. "When you finish college, son," he told me, his eyes glistening, "you'll never have to eat beans again unless you want to." 　　结婚以后，我把这个小小的泡菜坛在我童年时扮演的重要角色告诉了我的妻子苏珊。在我看来，它比其他任何东西都能诠释父亲对我的爱。不管家庭生活多么艰难，父亲一直坚持不懈地把硬币存进坛子。甚至在父亲被工厂解雇，母亲每周有好几次用干豆给我们做饭的时候，也没有从坛子里拿过一分钱。相反地，当父亲坐在桌对面看着我，为我的干豆涂上酱好让它容易下咽时，他为我寻求一条出路的念头比以往任何时候都坚决。他双眼含着晶莹的泪花，告诉我：“儿子，等到你大学毕业，你就永远都不必再吃干豆了，除非你自己想吃。”

　　The first Christmas after our daughter Jessica was born, we spent the holiday with my parents. After dinner, Mom and Dad sat next to each other on the sofa, taking turns cuddling their first grandchild. Jessica began to whimper softly, and Susan took her from Dad's arms. "She probably needs to be changed," she said, carrying the baby into my parents' bedroom to diaper her. 　　我们和父母一起度过了女儿杰希卡出生后的第一个圣诞节。晚饭后，爸爸和妈妈并肩坐在沙发上，轮流拥抱逗弄他们的第一个孙女。杰希卡开始轻轻地呜咽，于是苏珊把她从父亲怀中抱了过来。“她可能要换尿布了吧。”苏珊说，她抱着孩子进了父亲的卧室换尿布。

　　When Susan came back into the living room, there was a strange mist in her eyes. She handed Jessica back to Dad before taking my hand and quietly leading me into the room. "Look," she said softly, her eyes directing me to a spot on the floor beside the dresser. To my amazement, there, as if it had never been removed, stood the old pickle jar, the bottom already covered with coins. 　　当苏珊回到起居室的时候，我奇怪地发现她的双眼有些湿润。她把孩子递给父亲，拉着我的手，静静地带着我进了屋。“看！”她轻声说，顺着她的目光，我向梳妆台旁边的地板望过去。让我吃惊的是，在那里，就在那里，那个旧泡菜坛完好无缺地摆放着，就好象从来没有被移走一样，在坛底，已经铺了一层硬币。

　　I walked over to the pickle jar, dug down into my pocket, and pulled out a fistful of coins. With a gamut of emotions choking me, I dropped the coins into the jar. I looked up and saw that Dad, carrying Jessica, had slipped quietly into the room. Our eyes locked, and I knew he was feeling the same emotions I felt. Neither one of us could speak. 　　我走到泡菜坛旁，把手深深地伸进口袋，掏出一大把硬币。我百感交集，把手中的硬币投入坛子。我抬起头来，正看见父亲抱着杰希卡悄悄地进了屋。我们久久地注视着对方，我知道，他也和我一样，有着相同的感受。我们谁也没有说话。